Woman shares King’s Lynn hospital miscarriage experience

A woman says that she lost a “total faith” and will never return to the hospital which left her “rejected” after having made a miscarriage.

Emma Simmonds, 41, went to the early pregnancy unit at Queen Elizabeth (Qeh) Hospital in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, in 2023 after bled at almost 11 weeks of pregnancy.

She was told to come back the next day and discovered that she had made a miscarriage.

Chris Bown, interim managing director of QEH, said: “Our patients deserve the highest care standards, and we apologize in any case where we do not meet these standards.”

In the new league tables published by the government, the QEH was classified in the least efficient acute hospital in England.

She first visited the hospital after having experienced fertility difficulties and asked for her support from the Gynecology Department in 2018.

During her care, she underwent investigations for possible endometriosis, but said that she had “launched” a list for not having attended a physiotherapy meeting which she said had never been informed.

Following an urgent reference by her general practitioner, she attended another meeting that she described as “quite horrible” and complained through the consulting and liaison services of hospitals (PALS).

She discovered that the failed meeting was intended for someone else of the same name.

“I lost all self-confidence. Not only are the friends and the two consultants who directed the investigation had not noticed that there had been this data violation, nor the legal team … There were no excuses for that,” she said.

• If you have been affected by the problems of this story, help and support are available via the BBC Action Line.

In 2023, she asked for the support of the pregnancy unit at the start of the Qeh after bled at five weeks.

At almost 11 weeks old, she experienced another bleeding and returned to the hospital, but estimated that the staff were “disdainful”.

He was told to wait and come the next day, but then learned that her baby was dead.

“No one should never have to feel like that,” she said.

“I never want to go back to this hospital never, even after crossing the complaint service and everything, nothing came to it.

“My general practitioner was disgusted with what happened.”

Following this, she was referred to the recurring miscarriage clinic at Rosie Cambridge Hospital where it took 12 weeks to diagnose endometriosis and adenomyosis.

Endometriosis is a condition where cells similar to those of the mucous membrane of the uterus develop in other parts of the body, while adenomyosis is the place where the mucosa of the uterus develops in the muscle in the wall of the uterus.

• The details of the organizations offering support with miscarriage are available in the United Kingdom to BBC Action Line.

Ms. Simmonds said: “There is a culture not to complain … But in fact, I have the impression that we need it because the way many people are treated is not ok.

“Aposses on financing and lack of staff and the fact that the hospital is retained by accessories … is not the patient’s fault.”

In response, Mr. Bown said: “All the concerns raised are taken seriously and we will encourage patients and their loved ones to contact our patient advice and liaison services if they have concerns.”